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APPENDIX B
Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
project partner universities
from
Double degrees: research pathways, enabling
cross-disciplinarity and enhancing international
competitiveness
Bruce Moulton, University of Technology, Sydney
R.Mahalinga Iyer, Queensland University of Technology
Mark Shortis, RMIT University
Hari B. Vuthaluru, Curtin University
Ke Xing, University of South Australia
1
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This appendix and the related final report entitled ‘Double degrees: research
pathways, enabling cross-disciplinarity and enhancing international competitiveness’
are available for download from .

Appendix B.1
In the context of ways of improving double degree students’ learning activities,
issues of particular interest include:
• joint-discipline curricula involvement
• cross-discipline learning and assessment activities
• cross-disciplinary graduate attributes
• final year thesis projects.
Local examples of activities relevant to improving double degree
students’ learning
Local examples activities include several of the activities carried out as part final
research and design projects. The topics chosen for the double degree students are
formulated in a collaborative manner involving Chemical Engineering and other
departments from Chemistry and Extractive Metallurgy departments depending on
the type of graduate students. Some of the typical research/design projects for the
respective double degree programs are listed below.
Sample research projects (double degree students):
• Mesoporous Silica Materials for Drug Delivery System
• Top-of-the-Line Corrosion in CO2 Rich Gas Lines
Sample design Projects:
• Final Year Design Project 1: BEng/BSc (Applied Chemistry)
Natural Gas & Condensate Separation Plant Design
• Final Year Design Project 2: BEng/BSc (Extractive Metallurgy)
Design of a Hybrid Leach Circuit for the Production of Mixed Nickel Hydroxide
Examples of methods intended to facilitate learning experiences that
could be characterised as crossing disciplinary boundaries
Methods include the formulation of final year research/design project topics which
requires the knowledge of engineering and science for the respective double degree
programs. Examples shown below will aid students’ learning experiences in
undertaking the projects having cross disciplinary boundaries.
Example 1
Final year research project: BEng/BSc (Applied Chemistry)
Title: Mesoporous Silica Materials for Drug Delivery System
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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The suitability of two mesoporous silica materials, SBA-15 and MCM-48, as an inert
ibuprofen carrier for a drug delivery system has been investigated. In order to
determine the most suitable drug carrier, ibuprofen was adsorbed on both materials
then released into solutions replicating the stomach, duodenum and small intestine.
This project mainly involves laboratory test and data analysis where students will get
an opportunity to understand the material properties and their potential application in
chemical process industries.
Example 2
Final year research project: BEng/BSc (Applied Chemistry or Extractive
Metallurgy)
Title: Top-of-the-Line Corrosion in CO2 Rich Gas Lines
This research involved mainly of doing tests with inhibitors for corrosion under
immersed and also under simulated conditions of pressure and temperatures. It
requires a chemistry background on the mechanisms of carbon dioxide corrosion,
TOL corrosion. The effectiveness of amine TOL inhibition was investigated by the
use of various amines and examined through monitoring the corrosion rate under
different conditions. This requires a certain laboratory skill which would be essential
for both engineering and science (blend of chemistry and mineralogy) student.
Again, this project also requires data analysis skill and assists students with their
learning experiences with projects having cross-disciplinary boundaries.
Example 3
Final Year Design Project 1: BEng/BSc (Applied Chemistry)
Title: Natural Gas & Condensate Separation Plant Design
This project is to design a medium scale plant to generate natural gas and
condensate from feed gas stream that is high in nitrogen content. The process
involves distillation and pre-treatment of impurities. In the method selection, it
requires a systematic comparison of different sorts of separation technology from
Chemical Engineering point of view. At the same time, it also needs to identify the
likely cause of the investigated problems using the knowledge of Process
Chemistry. This knowledge is required in the choice of amine solvent to remove
CO2 as well as finding the optimum amine circulation rate. The mechanisms of
mercury removal, nitrogen removal, two phase separation are also related to basic
chemistry.
In terms of engineering, students need to look at the integration of process. First of
all, they need to do preliminary calculations from mass/energy balances to obtain
design characteristics. And then, they need to look at the detailed design of each
component in the system, the materials of construction, the instrumentation and
control methodology for the unit, the startup/shutdown procedures and maintenance,
etc.
Example 4
Final Year Design Project 2: BEng/BSc (Extractive Metallurgy)
Title: Design of a Hybrid Leach Circuit for the Production of Mixed Nickel
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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Hydroxide
This process requires knowledge in mineral processing and metallurgical processes.
It engages the important embedded learning in health, safety and environmental
study. The extractive metallurgy component may be seen from the material
selection, tailings disposal, etc. while for chemical engineering aspect, it involves the
knowledge of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, instrumentation and control,
operation procedures and the determination of operation conditions.
All the above-mentioned examples involve the academics from the respective
departments to provide cross-disciplinary learning and assessment activities to
satisfy the graduate attributes of double degree programs. Sample example
research/design projects for both double degree programs offered in association
with Chemistry and Extractive Metallurgy are attached covering the detailed
abstracts and contents of research or design work undertaken by the students.
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Appendix B.2
In the context of ways of improving double degree students’ learning activities,
issues of particular interest include:
• joint-discipline curricula involvement
• cross-discipline learning and assessment activities
• cross-disciplinary graduate attributes
• final year thesis projects.
Local examples of activities relevant to improving double degree
students’ learning activities
Students in double degrees are always given the choice to select their final year
thesis topic from either engineering or the second degree. In many instances the
project requires the skills from both degrees to complete the project.
Only recently, joint curricula development has been considered. Traditionally, the
number of students in the double degrees is small. Consequently specific units for
the double degrees are rare. Existing units are put together to form the double
degree with some collaboration between the participating Faculties. Tutorial classes
in the second degree units, for the double degree students are, in some instances,
scheduled separately to focus on unit content related to engineering.
Since the double degree cohort is small, the students in the double degree
programs are mixed with other students from the Faculty of the second degree.
Many of the tutorial classes are mixed (There are exceptions as noted above). The
assignments that require group work are mixed. In some instances, the grouping is
done deliberately to mix the students from different disciplines. Similarly, students
from the double degree are mixed with the engineering students in the units that are
common to both courses.
Some examples where the students from both degrees work together:
1. IF21 Double Degree in BEng (Electrical)/B Mathematics
Unit: ENB352 Communication Environment for Embedded Systems.
Exercise: Placing an Embedded Device on the Network
After completing this laboratory, you should be able to:
- understand the topology of the laboratory LAN
- ping a remote node (e.g. computer, embedded device) on a network to
check
- communication
- find the MAC address of a device on the Ethernet
- understand Ethernet and TCP/IP addressing
- place a device on a LAN with a specified IP address or use DHCP
- understand the hardware, software, standards and technology used for
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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- networking
- compile and run TCP/IP applications with Dynamic C and libraries
2. IF21 Double Degree in BEng (Electrical)/B Mathematics
IX28 Double Degree in BEng(Electrical)/BBus
Unit: BEB100 Introducing Professional Learning
Exercise: Crane options for a Central Australia Development Site
a) Investigate and report on the following aspects of the background to the
existing Uluru Ayers Rock Resort complex:
i. the nature, extent and outcomes of negotiations that took place with
indigenous communities and native title owners prior to development of the
complex
ii. the background to these indigenous communities, their needs and cultural
contexts
iii. the range of parties involved in the negotiations and their roles
iv. the nature and extent of the ongoing relationship between the parties.
b) Investigate and report on cranes suitable for construction of this casino
building in particular, and for remote sites in general. In particular you should
focus on mobile cranes capable of lifting a 5 tonne mass to a height of 15m
around the casino construction site. Your investigation should include:
i. types of mobile cranes used on construction sites in remote areas
ii. types of motors and control systems used to drive cranes for remote
applications
iii. types of structural solutions used to construct crane booms for such
applications
iv. the effect of constraints such as fuel and power supplies for craneage in
remote areas and what solutions there might be to overcome such
constraints;
v. logistics issues such as transport, assembly and operation of cranes in
remote areas
vi. your recommendation your recommendation of a suitable form of crane
for construction of the casino building at the Uluru complex.
Final year projects
Example 1: IF28 Double Degree in BEng (Electrical)/BBus
Project Title: Economic and market potential of solar powered liquid desiccant
crop drying system
This project aims to investigate ways to use solar energy in the area of food drying
and focuses on using liquid desiccant low temperature crop dryer as an alternative
for the conventional systems currently in use. Due to humid climate in summer in
Queensland higher air temperatures are required for drying agricultural products
compared with low humidity climates and this may consequently, damage the quality
of these products. However, by using a solution of lithium chloride or calcium
chloride as the desiccant the drying air can be dehumidified and as a result the
process of drying could be accomplished at lower air temperatures and therefore,
preserving the product quality. The weak desiccant solution will subsequently, be
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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egenerated for reuse using solar energy or other waste heat.
A number of tasks to be followed among the students in this project are:
1. Literature survey on traditional drying systems for agricultural products used
so far in Australia and other parts of the world.
2. Comparison between the above systems from the performance, energy savings
and the environmental point of view.
The project will then focus on the market potential of the liquid desiccant drying
system. The student will need to conduct a feasibility analysis including strength,
weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) associated with the new system. A
background in economics and business will be helpful.
Example 2: IF28 Double Degree in BEng (Electrical)/BBus
Project Title: Economic assessment of utility connected PV systems
A residential grid connected PV system services the local load and exports excess
energy to the electricity network. Grid-connected PV systems offer several
advantages over stand-alone systems including savings on wiring costs due to the
capability to use existing wiring in the building, the removal of the need for storage
batteries as the grid provides a backup and the possibility of selling surplus energy.
PV systems employing batteries may also improve the reliability if loads can be
supplied during grid power interruptions. In Australia, individual utilities impose their
own regulations on the specifications required for grid interconnection. The
corresponding metering and tariff structures for energy transfer are also set by the
utilities.
While studies show that renewable energy generators and in particular PV are
technically viable using existing technology, their use in the domestic sector has
been constrained by economical and organizational barriers. The benefits of gridconnected
schemes may be seen as expressing concern for the environment,
energy credit associated with reductions in fuel consumption and an opportunity to
participate and contribute into a new technology.
This project involves computational and economic analyses of grid connected PV
systems such as payback period and net present value, as these parameters are
often required when considering an investment decision.
Example 3: IF21 Double Degree in BEng (Electrical)/B Mathematics
Project Title: Robust speaker recognition with reduced utterance duration
Speaker verification is the process of using a person’s speech signal to verify their
identity. It has many important applications in personal authentication, security and
forensics as well as others. Support vector machines (SVM) are an approach to
speaker verification that has shown some promise in recent years. This project
investigates a generalised linear discriminant sequence (GLDS) kernel as part of a
SVM speaker verification system. It also develops a new normalisation technique for
the GLDS kernel.
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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Project require mathematical skills and understanding of engineering principles.
Example 4: IX28 Double Degree in BEng (Mechanical)/BBus
Project Title: Development & Implementation of a WH&S Management System:
Stage 2
Five key areas of an Aerospace Aviation factory which manufactures major
elementary parts for European helicopters were investigated. Methodology involved
is a multi-phase process of planning, research, development and implementation.
This included a methodical risk analysis and investigation on the methods to
eliminate or minimise these risks. A desktop audit at the end of the exercise
revealed that the compliance score can be increased from 45% to 78%.
Examples of methods intended to facilitate learning experiences that
could be characterised as crossing disciplinary boundaries
a) The double degree with Information technology has undergone some changes
since the accreditation visit by Engineers Australia. Some of the units (courses) in
the double degree program are now being re-developed with input from both
School of Engineering Systems and the School of Information technology with a
view to deliver these units via joint teaching. This will be implemented from 2010
onwards.
b) There are several examples of student final year thesis are jointly supervised by
Engineering as well as the Faculty of the second degree. Some of the industry
based projects the double degree students have taken include components from
both degrees.
c) As mentioned earlier, deliberate mixing of disciplines in group work is one way to
promote cross disciplinarity. The assessment is designed with components that
require knowledge from different disciplines.
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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Appendix B.3
Exploring methods for enabling integrative and cross-disciplinary
attributes
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
project partner universities 25

Appendix B.4
In the context of ways of improving double degree students’ learning activities,
issues of particular interest include:
• joint-discipline curricula involvement
• cross-discipline learning and assessment activities
• cross-disciplinary graduate attributes
• final year thesis projects.
Local examples of activities relevant to improving double degree
students’ learning activities
Unfortunately, by examining the current settings of BEng (Mechanical) and BMgmt
degree, it is found that there are no clear, purposely designed/facilitated activities for
joint-discipline curricula development and assessment activities. The five-year
program schedule is designed in such way that teaching and learning in Engineering
subjects (Y1, Y3, and Y5) are completely independent from those in Management
subjects (Y2 and Y4). Also, two faculties are located at two different campuses
15kms away from each other, making interactions (e.g. mingled learning and
assessment activities in the same study period) more difficult.
With regard to graduate attributes, at UniSA graduate qualities are defined in a very
generic manner. At the subject level, learning and assessment activities focus on
developing a range of specific skills, which are expected to contribute to the
development of those qualities (e.g. effective problem solving (GQ3) or effective
communication (GQ6)). So, both engineering and management subjects in the
double degree are expected to help students acquire those general qualities at the
completion. Although one can reasonably expect that a double degree student may
show better ability in demonstrating some of the GQs, such as “committed to ethical
action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen” (GQ5) and
“demonstrate international perspectives as a professional and as a citizen” (GQ7),
overall this is more due to incidental overlapping or complementary features of two
disciplines than a result of a deliberate design. Moreover, the two GQs are not
defined to promote or measure cross-disciplinarily.
In this double degree, students are predominately from an engineering background.
FYPs are often engineering projects (note, management does not require nor
provide topics for FYP). If double degree students want to do projects having
management content, engineering management related topics will be provided.
Again, this is not for cross-disciplinary, as the same options are available for single
degree students as well.
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
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Examples of methods intended to facilitate learning experiences that
could be characterised as crossing disciplinary boundaries
As described above, based on my understanding currently there are no clear
examples in this regard. Facilitating learning experiences crossing disciplinary
boundaries is still something to develop rather than to improve.
Appendix B: Examples of cross-disciplinarity at
project partner universities 27